Mental Dysfunction

Rev.Gus Carter

11/12/06

Today's Gospel points to the hidden danger that exists in all human thinking. Luke is addressing not the Pharisees but Christians. Already in the early church there were people using the teachings of Jesus to assert their importance and to debase others. Instead of bringing individuals together, Jesus teachings were being used to exalt some and to debase others.

The human mind, the human spirit, contains strong elements of dysfunction, even madness. Christians call this bent of mind original sin. The Hindu religion has a word that applies to human thinking as "the veil of delusion." The Buddhists use a word that they think applies to all human minds. The word translates as "suffering or misery." This conveys the idea that we cause much of the pain in life ourselves. Western philosophers call this element in the human mind "ego,' or "self." They see "ego" as the cause of war and strife. Pollution that threatens human extinction derives from pride and willful blindness.

The dysfunction of the human mind can be overcome. Our Sacred Scriptures tell us that the root of evil is the human desire to be God. We want people to worship at our shrine and to realize how important we are. We want the world to run according to our wishes. We are angry and discouraged when things do not go our way. There is much in life that threatens our godlike pretensions. There are always those who are smarter, stronger, prettier than we are. We feel almost a compulsion to distort the reality of others and to magnify our own personal attributes. There is an urge in us to be "number one." The competitive spirit that comes from our desire to be like God makes us feel that most people are our enemies. Thus, when I criticize or condemn another, it makes me feel bigger, superior.

Complaining and resentment are favorite strategies of the ego controlled mind. Complaining puts others in the wrong and ourselves in the right. Resentment is hanging onto our moral superiority. We do this type of thinking almost automatically. We are born with a tendency to distort reality. The first thing we do to combat distorted thinking is to be aware of what we are doing. Without awareness we routinely complain and condemn others. We must be alert to our ego activity, bragging about ourselves and disdaining others. The second strategy is not to react to the egoism in others. Much of egoism occurs in an unconscious fashion. If we recognize what it is, it is easier to let it go and not let ourselves get antagonized by unconscious behavior.

One of the most common mystical experiences is a sense of the profound unity of all things. The person senses that all humans are meant to work together. Each person's talents are intended to be for the good of all. By appreciating the gifts of others and being able to share that appreciation, we foster and encourage human growth for the benefit of all. By being truly loving we cut down on competition. Our kindness encourages human co-operation.

The whole challenge of life is to overcome our distorting ego's. We pray to rejoice in the good fortune and gifts of others. We pray that we will use our gifts for the good of others who are loved by the God of us all.